Introduction:
In the court of law fair trial is an essential one for the criminal proceedings. For a fair trial, the evidence acts as a prominent one. Evidence helps the court to identity and prosecutes the accused in a reasonable manner. Witness refers to a person who testifies before a tribunal for the information or document which he had regarding the crime. The witness may act as a piece of major evidence for criminal proceedings and it is considered as the basis of the trial. At times witnesses may take into consideration in civil proceedings.
This witness plays a substantial role because they may change the destiny of the case. Every person has the right to witness because it is the part of the right to life under Article 21 of the Constitution. To protect these witnesses, necessary measures should be taken to fight against the crime. Through these measures, they got the ability to face the higher authorities without any fear. In this article, the author deals with various protection measures of witnesses in different countries and in India.
Importance of Witness
The witness is neither a victim nor an accused. A witness is important for a case because they help to decide on the guilt made by the accused. Being evidence of the case, he sacrifices his time and assists the court to take a genuine decision. So these witnesses ought to be treated well and protected. These witnesses are also there for the cross-examination which helps the court to get more evidences regarding the crime. The number of witnesses will not be taken into consideration during proceedings.
The witness may give oral evidence but if it was given from any documents such documents should be presented before the court (Section 144 of the Indian Evidence Act). By section 132 of the Indian Evidence Act, the witness will not be excused by the court from answering on the ground that the answer will lead to charge with a crime. So by this, the person who is guilty of a crime will be charged subsequently. In the case of Raghunandan vs state of Uttar Pradesh[1], the witness is considered to be an eye witness by the court. But this witness did not appear in the police investigation. Here the court has the right to have the witness as evidence in a particular case even though such evidence was absent in police investigation. In the case of State of Gujarat v. Anirudh Singh[2] states that the witness knows the fact of commission of a crime and had a salutary duty to be evidence in the court of law.
Witness Protection Scheme
In this country, frequently the witness may turn hostile due to traumatic experience. This happens because of threatening the witness or they may be induced by money or muscular power and it may also happen due to protracted trials. This change of witness acts as a major disturbing factor confronted by the criminal courts. In the case of Mahendra Chawla vs Union of India[3], the witness was threatened. This happens due to the lack of protection given to them by the state. Mostly the women and children were suffered because of threatening. This case acts as a precedent for the implementation of a scheme called a witness protection scheme.
Recently Hon’ble Supreme court granted permission to draft a witness protection plan which should be prepared by the government. This plan is called a witness protection scheme and it was implemented all over the state except Jammu and Kashmir[4]. For this scheme, the central government had allocated some funds and such funds shall be operated by the Ministry of Home Affairs in the particular state. It was introduced mainly to safeguard the witness. This scheme was categorized according to the threat perception because the threat may be extended to life protection or reputation of their property or this may extend to harassment of the witness.
Rights and Preventive Measures of Witness
Being a witness, he/she has certain rights that were given by the witness protection scheme. They may also have the right to maintain secrecy. A witness cannot be a relative of the accused. They can be evidence without revealing their true identity. The witness also had a right to claim for the loss which was occurred to him/her from the court. Both witnesses and accused should not be handled together during the prosecution of the case. As a protective measure, the witness can also change the residence frequently. The court proceedings can be done as in-camera proceedings to protect the witness. This witness protection scheme is valid only for 3 months.
Conclusion
A witness is a man who completely accepts all the risks and consequences which he/she had to face and supported the court of law in taking a genuine decision. Such witnesses should be protected and this is the prior duty of the court of law. Other countries like Australia, Canada, etc. prioritizes the protection of witnesses in their country. In India, this witness protection scheme should be enacted as a law to protect the witness effectively.
References:
[1] Raghunandhan vs state of Uttar Pradesh, 1974 AIR 463
[2] State of Gujarat vs Anirudh Singh, (1997) 6 SCC 514
[3] Mahendra Chawla and Ors vs Union of India, 2019(14)SCC 615
[4] India now has a witness protection program, India Today, December 5, 2018
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